Another record breaker for Dubai! This time its a refrigerated beach next to the new Palazzo Versace hotel due to open late this year or early 2010. Dubai's heat never stopped any tourists from enjoying the beach but hey...what the heck...right?!

The beach will feature an array of heat-absorbing pipes under its sands, gigantic wind blowers, and a cooled swimming pool, all of which are under the control of thermostats linked to computers.

So, apparently, IKEA switched from Futura to Verdana. Why? Here's their official answer from Typophile:

"IKEA abandons 50 years of Futura and Century Schoolbook for… Verdana.In an interview with swedish design magazine CAP&DESIGN the reason for the change is to be able to use the same font in all countries, including asian countries. Also they want to be able to give the same visual impression both in print and the web."

Following the change, people go crazy about the whole issue. There is a petition to "ask IKEA to get rid of Verdana" , a facebook group was also created, and everybody is complaining about it on Twitter. Even Time magazine wrote an article about it.

Take a chill pill guys. Its not that big a deal! I think there are more important issue to worry about!!!!

So Fadi, hows the situation there in sweden, home of the retailer giant?

Thursday, August 27, 2009

These dolls are hand-made copies of your clothing, your hairstyle and your demeanor... It’s a "miniature-you" made of cloth.

The company that makes them is Eloole, a design studio-workshop that was founded in Barcelona in 2004 by Fashion Designer Eloisa López and Graphic Designer Lluís Campmajó. They design and create all sorts of objects that are hand-made, which makes their products unique and exclusive.

In order to acquire one, you’ll need to send the dolls’ makers a photo and information about the way you dress. Based on that, they will create a personalized doll using all sorts of cloth and fabrics such as felt, synthetic hair, and cotton.

The dolls cost between 130-150 Euros, depending on what you order and what materials are used. Their average size is approximately 60 cm / 24 inches, almost the size of a small child![via]

Rich deep colors aren’t achieved by applying solid color, but by blending a range of colors in your shadows and highlights. Add a bit of purple to your blues or yellow and orange to your browns to achieve richer, deeper pallets of color in your work.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

"Color Picker is an innovative design for a concept pen that can scan colors from anything around, then instantly use the color for drawing.

After placing the pen against an object, the user presses the scan button. The color is detected by a color sensor and the RGB cartridge of the pen mixes the required inks to create the target color. With Color Picker, artists can create a more accurate, visual rendering of their surroundings and the colors of nature."